Adjustable rivet setting tools



Feb. 7, 1967 R. M. ELLIOTT ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 28, 1964 In uenzm" Richard ME/Ziozf 15y h is fit/army Feb. 7, 1967 ELLIOTT 3,302,444

ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS Filed Sept. 28, 1964 6 Sheets.Sheet 2 R- M. ELLIOTT ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS Feb. 7, 1967 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 28, 1964 1967 R. M. ELLIOTT 3,302,444

ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS Filed Sept. 28, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 H a llllllllll a 12 Feb. 7, 1967 R. M. ELLIOTT 3,302,444

ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS Filed Sept. 28, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 VII/IA m k WI] m ch. 7, 1967 R. M. ELLIOTT 3,302,444

ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS Filed Sept. 28, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent Office 33%,444 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 3,302,444 ADJUSTABLE RIVET SETTING TOOLS Richard M. Elliott, Beverly, Mass, assignor to United hoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N..l., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Eiept. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 399,690 8 (Jaime. (Cl. 72-391) This invention relates to manually operable rivet setting tools and more particularly to improvements in a tool of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 3,154,210 granted October 27, 1964 upon a joint application of the present inventor and Raymond M. Tremblay (application Serial No. 323,388, filed November 13, 1963 and allowed August 31, 1964) for setting separable mandrel rivets.

The tool of the prior patent acts most effectively in operation upon a single diameter of rivet, the mandrel diameter determining the separation of a pair of gripper jaws actuated by hand applied squeezing power to pull the mandrel until the rivet is firmly set against both sides of a work piece. While the tool of the patent is capable of being utilized with several sizes of rivets, some difficulty may be encountered in the operation of that tool in setting smaller sizes of rivets evenly without several repeated squeezing actions. This is because of the limited force and length of movement available in a squeezing action capable of being applied by an operators hand and especially because in the prior tool the first part of each squeezing action is taken up by bringing the jaws against a mandrel, leaving only a small portion of the squeezing movement to tension the mandrel of a small sized rivet. It is therefore necessary that the amount of squeezing movement between the handles required to grip the mandrel be minimized and the amount available for tensioning a mandrel be increased as much as possible for each size wire of rivet. Otherwise, it is necessary to utilize more squeezing actions and to re-grip the mandrel of a rivet each time a new squeezing action is required, thus increasing the likelihood of an improper application of tension to the mandrel and of tearing loose from the sides of the mandrel particles of metal which may interfere with proper gripping or releasing of the mandrel from the jaws.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the construction and manner of operation in a manually operable rivet setting tool of the type referred to, to such an extent that the simplicity and economy of construction provided by the tool of the prior patent may be preserved to the greatest possible extent while enabling the tool to be readily adjusted for use with different sizes of rivets, substantially the entire squeezing action applied to the tool then being available in setting a rivet rather than requiring a large proportion of the squeezing movement to be used up in bringing the jaws against it.

Other objects are to provide a rivet setting tool wherein improved gripping jaws are provided for a rivet mandrel, which jaws are capable of operating efliciently on more than one size of rivet mandrel and to be adjustable readily for different sizes of rivets without interfering with the ease of releasing a separated rivet mandrel after its rivet is set.

A feature of the invention contributing to the attainment of these objects is embodied in a rivet setting tool having a housing or frame forming an operating handle and supporting an anvil to guide the mandrel of a rivet to be set, a second movable handle in the housing, a draw bar connected to the second handle and ajaw carried by the draw bar, in which there also is provided a flipper pivoted to the draw bar and provided with a cam surface against which the jaw rests to enable the jaw to be shifted along the cam surface of the flipper to accommodate the gripping action on different sizes of rivet mandrels while at the same time enabling their easy release after having been separated from their rivets by pivot movement of the flipper. Preferably, the rivet setting anvil is readily replaceable when it is desired to change the tool for operating upon different sizes of rivets, each anvil being provided with a different jaw engaging surface to adjust the position of the jaw along the flipper, so that no unnecessary lost squeezing action will occur as a result of moving the jaw into gripping engagement with a mandrel of any size.

These and other features of the invention, as hereinafter described and claimed, will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation and on an enlarged scale of a rivet setting tool embodying the features of the present invention and illustrating the positions taken by a pair of operating handles after setting a rivet;

PEG. 2 is an enlarged detail view partly in section of the tool, the actuating handles having been broken away and the mandrel gripping jaws having been adjusted to grip a small sized rivet most effectively, such a rivet being shown as having been inserted loosely into the tool before being gripped;

FIG. 3 is a similar view of the tool showing the positions of the parts after the small sized rivet has been set and the mandrel separated from the remainder of the rivet;

FIG. 4 is a similar view of the tool adjusted to receive the mandrel of a large sized rivet, such rivet being illustrated as having been inserted loosely into the tool;

FIG. 5 is a similar view of the parts in the tool illustrating the movements required to grip the mandrel of a large sized rivet ready to be set in a work piece;

FIG. 6 is a view in front end elevation and on a further enlarged scale of the tool; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating the positions of the parts after a large size rivet has been set.

Except as hereinafter described, the tool embodying the present invention is similar to that disclosed in the prior patent above referred to. As in the tool of the patent, a frame 10 is provided comprising a housing of sheet metal bent to form a base and a pair of parallel side walls, an integral extension of which serves as a handle 12, a cooperating movable handle 13 being fulcrumed on the housing. At the forward end of the frame is a threaded opening to receive a replaceable anvil 14 having an aperture to receive and guide a rivet mandrel, indicated at 16. The aperture of the anvil is alined with a pair of gripping jaws l8 and 20, which are forced yieldingly together to grip and then to tension the rivet mandrel when the handles are squeezed together, so that the head of the mandrel will be drawn into the tubular portion of a rivet barrel 22, thereby distending its diameter until the rivet is set in a workpiece. A weakened section of the mandrel permits it to separate from the head, terminating further distension of the rivet barrel.

In the tool of the prior patent the jaw, corresponding to the jaw 20, is pivoted to a drawbar connected to the movable handle and is provided with gripping teeth disposed in an arc eccentric to a pin about which the jaw is pivoted. To cause the jaws to grip a rivet mandrel the pivoted jaw is engaged by one end of a spring which swings it about its pivot until the teeth press the mandrel against the other jaw of the pair. To open the jaws for reception of a rivet the handles are spread apart to engage the pivoted jaw with the base of the housing, swinging the pivoted jaw upwardly away from the other jaw until the desired opening is accomplished. After inserting a rivet the handles 12 and 13 are squeezed together, first to cause the pivoted jaw to swing toward the other jaw until gripping engagement on the mandrel is reached. Thereafter, if the handles are squeezed further together a rivet setting tension is applied to the mandrel.

When a rivet of much smaller size than the one for which the prior tool is designed is attempted to be operated upon the squeezing movement applied to handles neces sary to bring the jaws against the rivet is much greater than when a larger size of rivet is used. Accordingly, there may be available only a very small tensioning movement of the jaws while squeezing the handles for setting the rivet, the overall movement of the jaws being less than a quarter of an inch. Under these conditions it is necessary to apply several squeezing movements to the handle with repeated grips of the jaws on the mandrel. After four or five repeated grips on the mandrel it may finally be possible to set the rivet. In the meantime the mandrel may become so indented by the teeth on the pivoted jaw that many particles of the material will be scraped from the mandrel, disturbing its secure engagement by the jaws and tending to interfere with free release of the mandrel after separation from the rivet.

To avoid the necessity of applying repeated squeezing movements to the handles 12 and 13 with alternate jaw gripping and releasing action on the mandrel, in accordance with the present invention, the pivoted jaw is capable of shifting movement on the drawbar, indicated at 24 and is held loosely in place between opposite sides of a V-shaped bend in sheet material forming the jaw 18. The drawbar itself has a pivotal connection for pendulous movement on a pin 26 supported between the walls of the handle 13, which in turn is fulcrumed between the side walls of the frame 1% by a pin 23, as in the prior tool. Squeezing the handles 12 and 13 together thus raises the drawbar away from the base of the frame to tension a rivet.

The jaw 20 while being formed with a series of mandrel engaging serrations or teeth 30 in a generally convexly curved arcuate shape, as in the prior tool, is also loosely supported in the drawbar and retained in position between its sides by a pin 32 passing through the jaw and having its outer ends projecting into large clearance holes 34 in the sides of the drawbar. The pivoted jaw 20 also is formed with a concave edge 36 having the same curvature as the line of teeth 30, but generally inclined upwardly and away from the line of the teeth and this concave edge is engaged with a similarly curved convex edge 40 on a flipper 38, forming a surface against which the jaw 2h rests to provide a wedge effect between the flipper and a rivet mandrel being gripped.

The flipper 38 is, in turn, pivotally mounted on the drawbar by a pin 42 and its pivot movement is limited by engagement With the edge of an opening 44 in the flipper with a stop rod 46 extending loosely through the opening, the ends of the rod being secured in opposite sides of the drawbar. The engaging edges 36 and 40 fit each other to enable the jaw 20 to be shifted easily along the wedge surface of the flipper for adjusting the jaw toward and from the base of the housing, the jaw being held in lowered position against the base by a single two-part spring 48, one curved end of which bears within a recess 50 of the jaw 21) and the other end of which bears against a pin 52 secured between flanges of the movable handle 13. The two parts of the spring 48 extend rearwardly from the jaw 20 and the pin 52 into the handle 12 where they are joined together by a single rivet 54 (FIG. 1).

As in the prior tool the single spring 48 acts to spread the operating handles each time the squeezing force on them is released and also to bring the jaws yieldingly together in gripping a rivet, as in the prior tool. To impart a modified spreading action to the handles which will increase rapidly as they are squeezed together, so that the greatest force will be applied to separate the jaws, in case a mandrel becomes jammed, the pin 52 is not engaged with the fulcrum pin 28, as in the prior tool but is located along the handle 13 to receive the thrust of the spring at one side of the fulcrum pin 28. As shown the pin 52 is located between the fulcrum pin and the free end of the handle 13. The other end of the spring bears on the movable jaw 20, as in the prior tool.

To adjust the open position of the jaws for easy reception of a rivet intended to be used in the tool, the jaw 24% has formed on it beneath the teeth 3%, a bevel edge 56, which is arranged to engage a conical surface 58 on the anvil 14 the location of this surface being selected to hold the teeth of the jaw 20 at. a minimum distance from the jaw 18 for easy reception of a small sized rivet mandrel without excessive clearance. If a large sized rivet mandrel is utilized such as shown in FIG. 4 then an anvil 60 is substituted for the anvil 14 and a conical surface 61 is engaged by the jaw 20 to hold its teeth at a proper minimum distance from the jaw 15%. To hold the anvil not being used a threaded boss 62 is formed in the movable handle 13.

After a rivet mandrel is inserted, whether it be of small size as shown at 16 in FIG. 2 or a large size as shown at 64 in FIG. 4, only a minimum squeezing movement on the handles is sufl'icient to bring the jaw 20 firmly against the mandrel while being supported by the jaw 18 (FIG. 5 Thereafter, substantially the entire remaining squeezing movement of the handles is utilized to set the rivet in a work piece, the action of the spring 48 on the jaw 20 holding it in optimum adjusted position for a particular size of rivet being operated upon.

The adjustment of the jaw 20 is obtained by the engagement of its bevel edge 56 with the conical surface 58 or 61 on a rivet anvil. Such adjustment produces a sliding movement between the wedge surfaces 36 and 40 on the jaw 20 and the flipper 38. As soon as any appreciable force is exerted on a rivet mandrel to tension it (FIG. 5) the jaw 20 and the flipper 38 are locked together frictionally to provide a self-energizing grip on the mandrel, the jaw and the flipper pivoting as a unit about the mounting pin 42, in a manner similar to the single piece jaw of the prior tool. After a rivet is fully set (FIGS. 3 and 7) by tension on a mandrel the mandrel is separated from the remainder of the rivet the drawbar then being raised to its maximum pulling position.

It thus appears that all of the benefits of simplicity in construction of the prior tool are preserved and in addition, adjustment of the jaw opening for different sizes of rivets is obtained merely by changing rivet guiding and setting anvils. Also, the spring 48 serves not only to spread the handles 12 and 13 and bring the jaws together into gripping engagement with a rivet mandrel but this same spring assists in adjusting the opening of the jaws for difierent rivet sizes.

Usually when the mandrel is separated from a rivet an abrupt impact occurs between the movable handle 13 and a pair of stop tabs 65 formed in the housing, the force on the drawbar having been relieved just before the impact occurs. Due to the momentum of the locked jaw and flipper they also pivot as a unit about the mounting pin until the separated mandrel is released, usually projecting it forceably from the housing of the tool.

To guide the separated mandrel in its projection from the tool, so that it will not become entangled with the drawbar or its pivot pin 26, there are formed two pairs of opposing and interengaging embossrnents 66 in the sides of the drawbar. If the separated rivet mandrel engages these embossments it is thrown clear of the pin 26. As a further insurance against interference of a rivet mandrel with the pin 26 it is provided with a central necked portion 64, which offers further clearance for the passage of the mandrel.

To assist in alinement of the gripping jaws 18 and 20 with a central aperture in the anvils 14 or 60 the sides of jaw 20 against the conical surface of the anvil.

the drawbar have along their rearward corner edges guide surfaces 67 engaging a pin 68 secured in the side walls of the housing 12. When the handle 13 is separated fully from the handle 12 the flipper 38 moves downwardly against the base of the housing to bring it into a uniformly fixed position, the spring 48 also holding the If the separated mandrel is not projected from the tool as a result of impact produced when the mandrel separates from a rivet then the mandrel may be freed from the grip of the jaws when the jaw Ztl engages the anvil.

The advantage of the present jaw and flipper construction is that separated rivet mandrels of any size are released from the jaws with facility. The releasing movement of the jaw does not require overcoming frictional sliding resistance of the wedge surfaces 36 and 40 against each other because unitary swinging of the jaw 20 and the flipper about their pivot mounting pin 42 enables them to move it as though the two were a solid part. Even if the separated mandrel is jammed between the jaws l8 and 20 swinging movement of the flipper affords an easy release which would not be possible if the jaw 20 were mounted entirely for frictional sliding movement.

To enable accurate preliminary adjustment of the jaw 20 along the flipper when the handles are spread the wedge action of the edge 36 of the jaw and the arrangement of the spring 48 causes the flipper to swing in a counterclockwise direction until it engages the base of the frame 10. Thereafter, the jaw slides on the flipper until it, in turn engages the anvil which is mounted in the base. Thus, proper relative movement of the jaw and flipper on the drawbar is assured.

For convenience in holding the movable handle 13 in close proximity to the frame handle 12 during shipment or otherwise to reduce the space occupied by the tool a double headed button 70 is slidingly mounted in a slot 72 formed in one flange of the handle 13, so that when the handle is moved to its closest position with relation to the frame the outer head of the button may be shifted beneath a hook 74 on the frame locking the handle 13 in place. Beneath the hook is a downwardly inclined portion of the housing, so that to unlock the handle it is only necessary to exert a slight squeezing force between the handles, camming the button away from the hook.

A further advantage of the present tool construction is that it affords quick access to the operating parts merely by swinging the riveted end of the spring outwardly from the housing as the handles are spread. When the handles are squeezed together the drawbar 24 clears the pin 68, so that the drawbar 24 and the jaw 20 may be drawn out of the housing and adjusted or serviced as required.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a particular embodiment having been described what is claimed is:

1. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, said tool comprising:

a housing having an integral first operating handle, and an anvil formed with an aperture to guide the mandrel of a rivet to be set,

a drawbar providing a gripping portion at its lower end,

a jaw carried by the drawbar for gripping the mandrel against the drawbar, and

a second handle comprising a lever fulcrumed in the housing and having a pivotal connection with the upper end of the drawbar, first to bring the jaws into gripping engagement with -a rivet mandrel extending through the anvil and then to set the rivet by reason of tension in the mandrel as the handles are squeezed together,

in combination with a flipper pivoted to the drawbar and provided with a wedge surface against which the jaw rests to enable the jaw to be shifted along the wedge surface to accommodate gripping different sizes of rivet mandrels while releasing them with facility by pivotal movement of the jaw and flipper as a unit after they have been separated from their rivets.

2. A manually operable tool, as in claim 1, in which the jaw has a generally arcuate mandrel engaging portion and the wedge surface of the jaw is concave and inclined to the mandrel engaging portion of the jaw,

the edge of the flipper being of a convex curvature similar to the concave curvature of the jaw to enable adjustment of the jaw on the flipper with a frictional locking action between the two upon application of gripping pressure on the mandrel by the jaw.

3. A manually operable tool, as in claim 2, in which means are provided for limiting the relative movement of the jaw and the flipper on the drawbar.

4. A manually operable tool, as in claim 1, in which there is provided a replaceable anvil against which a rivet is set, said anvil having a surface engaging the jaw to adjust it for proper gripping action by the jaw for one particular size of rivet mandrel.

5. A manually operable tool, as in claim 1, in which the drawbar is formed with a cam surface engaged by a pin on the housing and a replaceable anvil on the housing against which a rivet is set for adjusting the jaw on the flipper to separate the jaw from the gripping portion of the drawbar only to the extent required for easy entry of the mandrel of the rivet to be used with that anvil.

6. A manually operable tool for setting separable mandrel rivets, said tool comprising a housing having a first operating handle, and an anvil formed with an aperture to guide the mandrel of a n'vet to be set,

a drawbar provided with a gripping portion at its lower end,

a jaw carred by the drawbar for gripping the mandrel against the drawbar,

a second movable handle fulcrumed in the housing and connected to the drawbar, first to cause the jaw to swing toward the gripping portion on the drawbar until gripping engagement with a rivet mandrel extending through the anvil is reached and then to apply a rivet setting tension to the mandrel as the handles are squeezed together,

in combination with a flipper pivoted to the drawbar and provided with a wedge surface against which the jaw rests to enable the jaw to be shifted along the wedge surface to accommodate gripping different sizes of rivet mandrels while releasing them with facility after they have been separated from their rivets, and

a single spring for spreading the handles, for bringing the jaw and the gripping portion of the drawbar together and for assisting adjustment of the opening movement between the jaw and the gripping portion of the drawbar for different sizes of rivets.

7. A manually operable tool, as in claim 6, in which the spring has one end bearing on. the jaw and the other end acting on the second handle at one side of its fulcrum to impart a modified spreading action between the handles.

8. A manually operable tool for setting rivets including separable mandrels of different cross-sectional dimensions, comprising a housing having a first operating handle, a plurality of perforated anvils each selectively applicable to the housing in operative position and each adapted to receive in its perforation mandrels of predetermined cross- 3,302,4A4; 7 8 sectional dimensions, a second movable handle ful- References Cited by the Examiner cr ummed on the housing, a pair of spaced apart adjustable UNITED STATES PATENTS mandrel gripping jaws operatively connected to the second handle for applying a tractile force to the mandrel 370033257 10/196; siebol 72*391 When the handles are squeezed together and means for 5 7/196" Heidenwolf 72*39 adjusting the spacing between the jaw in response to the 3154210 10/1964 E1110 72 391 anvil placed in operative position whereby rivet mandrels RICHARD J, HERBST, Primary Examiner. of ditferent cross-sectional dimensions are gripped by the jaws with facility. G. P. CROSBY, ASSlStaIZL Exammer. 

1. A MANUALLY OPERABLE TOOL FOR SETTING SEPARABLE MANDREL RIVETS, SAID TOOL COMPRISING: A HOUSING HAVING AN INTEGRAL FIRST OPERATING HANDLE, AND AN ANVIL FORMED WITH AN APERTURE TO GUIDE THE MANDREL OF A RIVET TO BE SET, A DRAWBAR PROVIDING A GRIPPING PORTION AT ITS LOWER END, A JAW CARRIED BY THE DRAWBAR FOR GRIPPING THE MANDREL AGAINST THE DRAWBAR, AND A SECOND HANDLE COMPRISING A LEVER FULCRUMED IN THE HOUSING AND HAVING A PIVOTAL CONNECTION WITH THE UPPER END OF THE DRAWBAR, FIRST TO BRING THE JAWS INTO GRIPPING ENGAGEMENT WITH A RIVET MANDREL EXTENDING THROUGH THE ANVIL AND THEN TO SET THE RIVET BY REASON OF TENSION IN THE MANDREL AS THE HANDLES ARE SQUEEZE TOGETHER, IN COMBINATION WITH A FLIPPER PIVOTED TO THE DRAWBAR AND PROVIDED WITH A WEDGE SURFACE AGAINST WHICH THE JAW RESTS TO ENABLE THE JAW TO BE SHIFTED ALONG THE WEDGE SURFACE TO ACCOMODATE GRIPPING DIFFERENT SIZES OF RIVET MANDRELS WHILE RELEASING THEM WITH FACILITY BY PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF THE JAW AND FLIPPER AS A UNIT AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN SEPARATED FROM THEIR RIVETS. 